Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Chase Ultimate Rewards is a transferable points program available through a number of Chase cards.  In my comparison of transferable points programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards came out ahead of Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Capital One “Miles.”  Chase offers a great combination of easy-to-earn points and both easy and valuable point redemptions.  Those who are primarily interested in luxury international award flights will likely do even better with Amex, but if you’re interested in hotel awards, domestic flights, or miscellaneous travel value, Chase is a great pick.

Chase updated their Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards in August 2021 with new point earning opportunities and perks.  For the Sapphire Preferred in particular, this helps to at least bring the card on-par with the fee-free Freedom cards which Chase updated in 2020.

Chase’s Ultimate Rewards points can be earned primarily via new account bonuses, referral bonuses, and credit card spend.  As long as you have at least one Ultimate Rewards card with an annual fee, those points can then be transferred to airline or hotel partners, used to pay for travel at better than 1 cent per point value.

Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Chase Ultimate Rewards…

How To Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Credit Cards

Card Offer and Details
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card ⓘ $1305 1st Yr Value Estimate 90K points ⓘ Affiliate 90K after $6K spend in 3 months No Annual Fee Alternate Offer: If you have a household member with an Ink card, you may prefer the referral offer whereby the referrer can earn 40,000 points and the new account holder can earn 75,000 points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months since it will yield more total points. See: How to sign up for Chase Ink cards Recent better offer: 90K after $6K in 3 months [Expired 3-20-23] FM Mini Review: Great signup bonus for a fee-free card. Good option for earning 1.5X everywhere. Good companion card to Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred. Earning rate: 1.5X on all purchases ✦ 5X Lyft through through March 2025 Base: 1.5X (2.25%) Other: 5X (7.5%) Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide ➥More
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card ⓘ $1285 1st Yr Value Estimate 100K points ⓘ Affiliate 100K after $8K spend in 3 months $95 Annual Fee See: How to sign up for Chase Ink cards Recent better offer: 80K after $5K spend. Many preferred the 80K offer due to the much lower spend requirement FM Mini Review: Great card for signup bonus and 3X categories. Also consider the fee-free Ink Business Cash for its 5X categories, and the fee-free Ink Business Unlimited to earn 1.5X everywhere. Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year) ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 Base: 1X (1.5%) Travel: 3X (4.5%) Phone: 3X (4.5%) Biz: 3X (4.5%) Other: 5X (7.5%) Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card has no foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: ✦ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ Cell phone protection against theft or damage See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide ➥More
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card ⓘ $1260 1st Yr Value Estimate 90K points ⓘ Affiliate 90K after $6K spend in 3 months No Annual Fee Alternate Offer: If you have a household member with an Ink card, you may prefer the referral offer whereby the referrer can earn 40,000 points and the new account holder can earn 75,000 points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months since it will yield more total points. See: How to sign up for Chase Ink cards FM Mini Review: This one should be in everyone's wallet. Incredible signup bonus for a no-fee card. Great card for 5X categories. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5X office supplies ✦ 5X cellular/landline/cable (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5x categories annually) ✦ 2X on the first $25K in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each cardmember year ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 Base: 1X (1.5%) Dine: 2X (3%) Gas: 2X (3%) Phone: 5X (7.5%) Office: 5X (7.5%) Other: 5X (7.5%) Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide ➥More
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card ⓘ $560 1st Yr Value Estimate 60K Points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months $550 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: 70K after $4K spend showing on some accounts when logged-in to Chase Recent better offer: Expired 12/1/22: 80K after $4K spend FM Mini Review: Excellent all-around card for frequent traveler. Best when paired with no-fee Chase Freedom Flex, no-fee Freedom Unlimited & no-fee Chase Ink Cash Earning rate: 10X hotels & car rentals booked through Chase ✦ 10X Chase Dining ✦ 5X flights booked through Chase ✦ 3X Travel and Dining ✦ 10X Lyft (through March 2025) Base: 1X (1.5%) Travel: 10X (15%) Dine: 3X (4.5%) Other: 10X (15%) Card Info: Visa Infinite issued by Chase. This card has no foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: $300 Annual Travel Credit ✦ Points worth 1.5 cents each towards travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ Priority Pass Select lounge access ✦ $100 Global Entry fee credit ✦ $5 monthly DoorDash in-app credit through December 2024 ✦ Free DashPass through 2025 ✦ Earn 10X on Lyft spend✦ Free Lyft Pink All Access Memberhsip through December 2024 ✦ $15 monthly Instacart credit ✦ 12 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide ➥More
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ⓘ $785 1st Yr Value Estimate 60K points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months $95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: There may be elevated offers available by applying in-branch A similar offer with the first year annual fee waived may be found in-branch. YMMV. FM Mini Review: Great signup bonus. Unlocks ability to transfer points to hotel & airline partners. Solid option to pair with fee-free Ultimate Rewards cards such as the Freedom cards, Ink Business Cash, and Ink Business Unlimited. Earning rate: 5X Travel booked through Chase (2X all other travel) ✦ 3X Dining ✦ 3X Select streaming services ✦ 3X Online grocery ✦ 5X Lyft (through March 2025) ✦ 10% annual point bonus Base: 1X (1.5%) Travel: 5X (7.5%) Dine: 3X (4.5%) Other: 3X (4.5%) Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ Free DashPass through 2025 ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ $50 annual credit for hotel stays booked through Chase ✦ $15 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 6 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) See also: Sapphire Preferred 100K Q&A: Everything you need to know ➥More
Chase Freedom Unlimited® ⓘ $300 1st Yr Value Estimate Unlimited Double Cashback for One Year ⓘ Affiliate Unlimited, uncapped double cashback on all spending for first year of card membership No Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Low spenders may prefer a different intro offer with an initial spend bonus and additional bonuses for gas and grocery purchases. Details here. This card is likely subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). FM Mini Review: Great for 3x categories and 1.5X everywhere else. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 1.5X everywhere else Base: 1.5X (2.25%) Travel: 5X (7.5%) Dine: 3X (4.5%) Other: 5X (7.5%) Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide ➥More
Chase Freedom Flex ⓘ $293 1st Yr Value Estimate 20K points + 5% on gas and groceries for a year ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 20,000 points (worth $200 cash back) after spending $500 in the first 3 months + 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. No Annual Fee Be sure to select the card you want after clicking through. This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Even though this card is marketed as a cash back card, it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points which are redeemable for 1 cent each, or can be combined with other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards to get even more value. This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 20K points + 5x grocery stores for the first year on up to $12K in qualifying purchases FM Mini Review: Great for 5X and 3x categories and World Mastercard benefits. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q4 2023: PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select charities) Base: 1X (1.5%) Dine: 3X (4.5%) Shop: 5X (7.5%) Other: 5X (7.5%) Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ Cell phone protection ✦ Lyft credits ✦ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide ➥More

All of the cards listed above earn Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred to travel partners provided you have at least one Ultimate Rewards-earning card that has an annual fee.

There is an exception though. The Chase Ink Business Premier card earns Ultimate Rewards and has an annual fee. What’s important to know though is that Ultimate Rewards earned on that particular card (a charge card rather than a credit card) aren’t transferable – they can only be redeemed for cash or some other redemption options.

Card Offer and Details

Chase Ink Business Premier℠ ⓘ $705 1st Yr Value Estimate $1,000 Cash Back ⓘ Affiliate $1K after $10K Spend in 3 Months $195 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Some have been targeted for 150K after $10K spend via mailer or in the "Just for You" section of their online account. FM Mini Review: This is an almost 1 to 1 copy of Capital One's Spark Cash Plus card, but the Chase card throws in 2.5% earnings on very large purchases. Unfortunately, the Chase card also has a slightly higher annual fee. The biggest disappointment about this card is that, unlike other Chase Ink cards, the rewards cannot be moved to other Chase cards to improve their value. Even though this card technically earns Ultimate Rewards points, it's best to think of it as a straight up cash back card. Earning rate: 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more ✦ 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards ✦ 2% cash back on all other spend Base: 2% Other: 5% Card Info: Visa Signature Business Charge Card issued by Chase. This card has no foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Purchase protections ✦ Cell phone protection (up to $1K per claim) ✦ Travel protections ➥More

Ultimate Rewards cards no longer available to new applicants

Bank Products

Some Chase banking products also earn Ultimate Rewards points bonuses.  If you can find a good signup bonus (like this expired one), you can earn as many as 60,000 points that way.  Similar offers occasionally surface for things like new mortgage accounts, though you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the best rate along with your points.

Keep in mind that points earned through banking are generally taxable.  However, unlike points earned from Citi’s banking products, Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned from bank account bonuses can be transferred to airline partners or combined with another member of your household.

Refer Friends

Referring friends is often a good way to earn extra points with Chase products, but referral offers come and go over time.  When referral offers are available, Chase sends emails to eligible cardholders with the offer details.  Cardholders can also look for Chase friend referral offers here.

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Redeem Points

Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for cash.  That said, there are a few ways in which it is possible to get more value:

• “Pay Yourself Back”: Up to 1.5 cents per point value.
• Redeem points for travel: Up to 1.5 cents per point value.
• Transfer points to airline and hotel partners: Value depends on how your airline or hotel points are used.
• Redeem points for gift cards: A selection of brands go on sale for 10% off each month, although in many cases you’d be better off redeeming points for cash and buying the gift cards for more than 10% off elsewhere.

Move Points to a Premium Card First

Points earned on fee-free Ultimate Rewards cards are not directly eligible for any of the above better-than-one-cent-per-point redemptions, but you can move points first to a premium card (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, for example) or ultra-premium card (Sapphire Reserve) in order to get the best value from your points.  In fact, you only need one premium or ultra-premium card per household since points can be freely moved from one card to another within a single household.  A family working together, for example, could have a single Sapphire Reserve card and use that one card as the vehicle for redeeming points.  All points earned on the family’s other Ultimate Rewards cards (Freedom, Ink, etc.) would be moved to the Sapphire Reserve account for that purpose.

Pay Yourself Back

Chase allows most Sapphire, Freedom, and Ink cardholders to “Pay Yourself Back”. The basic idea is that you can exchange your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for statement credits against certain categories of purchases. Here’s the link to use this feature yourself.

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Chase changes or renews the eligible categories every few months. When using this feature, Sapphire Reserve cardholders get 1.25 cents per point value for most categories, and all other eligible cardholders get 1 cent per point value. Chase used to offer 1.5 cents per point value for Sapphire Reserve cardholders and 1.25 cents per point value for Sapphire Preferred cardholders.  That was a decent deal.  With the lower redemption values in play today, we no longer recommend this option. More details about Chase's Pay Yourself Back feature can be found here.

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Travel

With the right credit card, you can get more than 1 cent per point in value when redeeming for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal:

• Redeem points for travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal at a value of 1.25 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred
• Redeem points for travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal for 1.5 cents value with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Redeeming points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal

With many no-annual-fee Chase credit cards, you can redeem points for travel booked via Chase Ultimate Rewards at a rate of just 1 cent per point (or you could alternatively book travel anywhere and cash out your points for a statement credit at a value of $0.01 each). As an example, if you have a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, a $600 flight would cost you about 60,000 points. See this example of a flight that costs $601.20 or 60,120 Ultimate Rewards points. However, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred card, you'll get 1.25 cents per point value. The same example flight would cost just 48,096 points when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. You'll get the most value with the Chase Sapphire Reserve at 1.5 cents per point. The same example flight would cost just 40,080 points with the CSR when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Cardholders can book airfare, hotels, cruises, and car rentals in this way. Airfare purchased via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal still earns airline miles and elite qualifying miles.  Hotels booked this way do not earn hotel rewards.  Worse, hotels booked via the Ultimate Rewards portal often will not offer you elite benefits even if you have status.

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Fortunately, when you pay with points for travel, Chase's automatic travel protections do apply.  So, you can be covered for things like trip delays, trip cancellation & interruption, lost luggage, etc.  The coverage you receive will be based on which card's rewards were used to book the trip. For example, if you have both a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve, you would want to move your Ultimate Rewards points from the Preferred to the Reserve and then use the Reserve points to book your trip. You will get both better value (1.5 cents per point) and better travel protections.

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The following chart summarizes travel insurance provided automatically by each Ultimate Rewards card. Cells in green indicate best in class coverage, yellow indicates good coverage, red indicates worse than peers' coverage. "Pay partial" means that you can get full coverage even if you pay only part of your transportation costs with this card. For example, you could pay just the taxes and fees for an award flight. Or, you could pay part of a cruise with gift cards and the rest with the credit card. See Ultimate Rewards credit card travel insurance for a more detailed comparison beyond this chart summary.

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	Sapphire Reserve	Sapphire Preferred	Ink Business Preferred	Ink Cash, Ink Business Unlimited	Freedom, Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver	Primary	Primary	Primary for Business*	Primary for Business*	Secondary*
Roadside Assistance	4X per year limit	Pay per use	Pay per use	Pay per use	Pay per use
Trip Cancellation and Interruption	Pay partial	Pay partial	Pay partial	N/A	Pay partial
Trip Delay	6 hour delay Pay partial	12 hour delay Pay partial	12 hour delay Pay partial	N/A	N/A
Lost Luggage	Pay partial	Pay partial	Pay partial	N/A	N/A
Baggage Delay	6 hour delay Pay partial	6 hour delay Pay partial	6 hour delay Pay partial	6 hour delay Pay partial	N/A
Travel Accident Insurance	Pay partial	Pay partial	Pay partial	Pay partial	N/A
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation	$100K limit Pay partial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Emergency Medical and Dental	$2,500 limit Pay partial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

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* Each of these cards offers primary coverage outside of your country of residence.  Unfortunately, the Ink Cash, Ink Business Unlimited, Freedom, Freedom Flex, and Freedom Unlimited cards all incur foreign transaction fees outside of your country of residence.

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If you would like to use points earned on other cards with a card like the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve, combine your Ultimate Rewards points with other cards in your name or with one other member of your household or business partner.

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Transfer points

The best use of Ultimate Rewards points, in my opinion, is to transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high value awards.  Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great flight or night award before transferring points. Points transfer at a ratio of 1:1 as shown in the list of transfer partners below. Keep in mind that while transfers are instantly posted to most loyalty programs, transfers to Singapore Krisflyer and Marriott Bonvoy are not instant.

Current transfer bonuses

If there are any current transfer bonuses from Chase Ultimate Rewards, details will appear here:

Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners

Cash back

Chase Ultimate Rewards cardholders can redeem points for 1 cent each either as statement credits or as cash back. Cash back can be taken as a statement credit or via check or ACH transfer.

Other ways to redeem points

Sweet spot awards

Our post, Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots, details the best value uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards. Either click here or click below to jump to a section of the post:

• Hotels
• Domestic US flights
• Hawaii
• Europe
• Asia
• Caribbean / Latin America
• Africa
• Australia / New Zealand / Oceania

Manage Points

Combine Points Across Cards

Share Points Across Cardholders

Chase allows customers to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to any other account in that customer's name or to one additional household member or joint business owner (for free).  You do need to call Chase the first time you transfer points to a different person's account, but once that's been done once, you can transfer more points online in the future.

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Why this is valuable:

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• You earn points with the card offering the best return on purchases and then use points with the card offering the best redemption rate.
• Only one member of your household needs to maintain a premium card for transferring to partners or booking travel (though note that the primary cardholder can only transfer points to partner loyalty programs in the name of the primary cardholder or authorized users).

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How to Keep Points Alive

More information

Chase’s official Ultimate Rewards page can be found here.

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